It was a man-made fire, says Fire Department

KOCHI: Within two days of the fire incident at Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary, another fire on the border of the sanctuary point fingers at the antisocial elements who are alleged to be behind the fire.The fire on Mangalavanam border burned down five acres of land on Tuesday afternoon.The fire gulped a major chunk of the grassy land outside Mangalavanam.“Since the incident took place in the middle of the forested area, the Fire and Rescue Department tankers could not reach the spot.Officials resorted to douse the fire using branches of the trees and water from small pools in the weedy grass land,” Fire and Rescue Services officials said.The officials said that the reason of fire was man-made.“It was not natural or forest fire.It was surely started by people.We have found firewood, oil, stoves and liquor bottle here.Since the grass is dried and the wind is strong, the fire would spread quickly.It would be disastrous if fire spreads to the petrol bunk located nearby.We have taken all the necessary measures to stop the fire,” they said.According to the locals, they have seen many people entering the forest area during the night and day time.“Anti-social activities are regular.We have seen many young people entering the forest area in the night.Some people were seen drinking liquor under a tree.We suspect that the cigarette butts thrown away carelessly could have lead to the fire.We have reported this to police.But they have not taken any measure to curb such activities,” Rajan Nair, a resident near to the area said.